On Monday, the International Anti-Doping Organization Wada will decide to suspend Russian sport for four years.

The proposal comes from an independent Wada review committee.

The widespread Russian doping heritage first became known in athletics in 2014 when 800-meter runner Julia Stepanova and her husband Vitalij Stepanov, who had worked for the Russian anti-doping organization, testified about doping and corruption in Russian athletics. Wada started an independent investigation led by lawyer Richard McLaren.

McLaren's report showed how Russian doping had been ordered and made possible by the Russian government during the 2012 Olympics, Athletics World Cup 2013, Olympic Games 2014 and the Sim World Cup 2015. The report led Wada to shut down Russia's anti-doping agency Rusada and the doping laboratory in Moscow.

The International Athletics Association shut down Russian athletes from international competition in November 2015, and that suspension still applies. A large number of Russian athletes have been allowed to compete internationally under a neutral flag.

33 Russian Olympians were suspended from the Lifetime Olympics. Russia has been forced to return 15 medals, including six golds, from the home Olympics in Sochi 2014.

For the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics, each sport had to decide on Russian participation. 271 Russian athletes participated.

Russia was stopped from the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang 2018, on the other hand, 168 Russian participants were allowed to participate under neutral flags. After the Olympics, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) claimed the suspension, as only two of the 168 Russian participants were arrested for doping.

On September 20, 2018, Wada claimed the suspension of Rusada. The condition was that Wada would have access to the Russian anti-doping organization's data on doping tests, which were obtained in January 2019.

In September, Wada asked for clarification on some data after finding flaws and irregularities. Since then, Wada has so far gone ahead with 47 of 145 suspected doping cases.

In November, Wada's review committee proposed that Russian sports be shut down for four years. The proposal means, among other things, that Russian athletes and coaches can only participate in major championships if they can prove that they are not included in the McLaren report, have not submitted positive doping tests or that their doping tests have not been manipulated.

Russian athletes may then participate under a neutral flag. Russia should not be allowed to host major championships (the exception is already decided championships that cannot be relocated) or seek major championships like the 2032 Olympics. The next year's European Football Championship, where St. Petersburg is one of the host cities, will not be affected.

The IOC supports the proposal.

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